as long as hawaii has been a state, dan inouye served in washington, us, the people of hawaii. he was always there, as dependable as the sunrise and yet, he was never proud, never acted as though he was better than the people he represented. i can tell you from personal experience that it is just impossible to be an elected official in hawaii without being in awe of daniel k. inouye, someone who served so long and accomplished so much and yet made it seem so effortless. hawaii was and is a grassroots state. you need to get out there with the people, share their activities, eat their food. now that's really critical. laugh at their jokes and there was dan inouye, the war hero, recipient. medal of honor, u.s. senator and i con -- icon in american politics. and he fit right in. we can spot a phony a mile away, but we loved him because we knew he was the real thing. he was genuine. so here was the most senior member of the senate, chairman of the appropriations committee, president pro tempore and third in line to the succession of the presidency, but in his heart he was no differe